Whitney Harder of Eugene Skydivei
checks his altimeter before deploying the parachute as sophomore Chanelle Olivo,
Urban Moore, the owner of Eugene Skydivers,
who is an education major, enjoys the free-fall portion of the skydive.
Reporter takes leap of faith
■ Jumping out of an
airplane 10,000 feet above
the ground can change
one's outlook
By Lisa Toth
Oregon Daily Emerald
Since elementary school I’ve
known that what comes up must
come down — but I had no idea I’d
be an example of the law of gravity.
Even though my feet are safely
back on the ground, I still can’t be
lieve I actually went skydiving for
the first time — jumping out of a
Cessna 182,
10,000 feet
above the
ground. My
poor par
ents would
have heart
attacks if
they only knew. I haven’t told them
yet.
I questioned my own sanity as 10
of my crazy college friends and I
sped toward the “drop zone” at
Creswell Municipal Airport, the
tunes of Tom Petty’s “Free Falling”
and Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone”
filling my head.
The gray skies and 45-degree
wind-chill factor at Hobby Field
wasn’t going to put a damper on our
anticipation. When we arrived at
the warehouse for Eugene Sky
divers, I could tell the level of nerv
ousness went up a notch because
there was a line to use the portable
toilets.
After we filled out paperwork
that acknowledged we would leap
ing at our own risk, Tandem In
structor Peter Keep orientated our
group on airplane safety and how
to mentally and physically prepare
to jump. The first words that came
out of his mouth were: “What’s
wrong with you people?”
Urban Moore, the owner of Eu
gene Skydivers, started the busi
ness out of his car using rented
equipment in 1993. He said the
sport attracts “Type A” personali
ties.
“Basically, we are the kind of
people your parents have always
warned you about,” said Moore,
who called skydiving “a finesse
sport.”
“Once you understand what you
'• <• 9 ""9 9
Reporter’s
NOTEBOOK
are doing, the air does 95 percent of
the work,” he said.
After watching a demonstration
video, I was already biting my fin
gernails. But Keep told us most
people will only skydive once in a
lifetime, so I decided I was going to
make the most of it.
“I’ve had three guys pass out, but
I’ve never had a woman pass out,”
Keep said.
After we were orientated and I
had pushed fatality into the back of
my mind, we waved to the first vic
tim of the sky, sophomore educa
tion major Chanelle Olivo, as she
climbed into the airplane. She
would be jumping with Moore.
Katie Breene, a senior political
science major, and I were next on
the list to take the plunge. Between
nervous hugs and shrieks of excite
ment, I pulled on a purple jump
suit.
“A ride at an amusement park is
going to seem boring after this,”
Breene said.
Breene and I piled into the plane
with our tandem jumpers, trained
professionals from Eugene Sky
divers, who would be attached to
us during the jump. Feeling
cramped and claustrophobic, I
knew once we got up in the air, the
plane wasn’t going to land with me
in it.
As we took the sky, Darren
McMahon, my tandem partner,
asked me if I was nervous. I just
nodded my head in reply, because
my tongue was tied and my stom
ach was full of butterflies. To my
surprise, McMahon told me he was
nervous, too.
I thought, “Great! I’m trusting
this guy to make sure my parachute
opens, and he’s getting nervous.
He’s not suppose to be nervous.
He’s done this before.”
McMahon showed me the al
timeter strapped to his wrist that
measured our altitude as we
climbed higher and higher above
the clouds. When we reached
10,000 feet, the next few actions I
went through became a blur.
The world seemed so much safer
when the door to the airplane was
closed. McMahon released the han
dle, the door flew open and the cab
in became extremely loud and
windy. I noticed the paint had been
peeled off from the edge of the door
by the petrified hands of those who
had jumped before me.
That’s when the terror set in. I
didn’t want to look down. McMa
hon motioned it was time to jump.
I told my feet they were going to
have to move. Fighting the intensi
ty of the situation, not to mention
the fierce winds, I swung my feet
over the edge and onto the wheel of
the airplane flying 85 miles an
hour. I crossed my hands over my
chest.
My palms were sweating, and
my senses were on overload.
I heard McMahon yell the three
part exit count: “Ready, set,
ARCH!”
We pushed forward into the free
fall portion of the dive. With 90
mph winds screaming past my
ears, I felt myself dropping, and I
arched my body like we had prac
ticed.
I remember looking out over the
clouds and seeing the peaks of the
Three Sisters in the distance. The
view was simply incredible.
“For some people it’s an eternity,
for others it’s over in a heartbeat.”
Keep said.
In actuality, the free fall lasted
about 35 seconds. Then McMahon
pulled the rip-cord that deployed
the canopy at 5,000 feet. I had the
opportunity to pull the handle, but
I was too overwhelmed to actually
do it.
The rest of the ride was smooth
sailing. We floated down through
the clouds, and I helped turn the
parachute in midair. Breene and
her tandem partner, Jim Renfro,
steered alongside us, and Breene
and I screamed with excitement as
we waved to each other. I looked
down and realized how small
everything was. McMahon and I
practiced our landing before we ap
proached the ground.
“You imagine what you are going
to feel when you get out of the
plane, and it’s nothing like what
you think it’s going to be,” said
sophomore art major Nancy
Rhodes.
We landed safely and proudly
headed back toward the base,
where we were greeted by our
friends. Everyone who went sky
diving on Sunday came awTay feel
ing that somehow their lives had
changed.
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